St. Charles area fire departments are completing a joint training program to bring area firefighters up to speed on high rise fire attack and rescue. A program of this magnitude is unprecedented in the area and has been successful only because of the cooperative efforts between the various agencies and the commitment of each of the firefighters. The St. Charles County Training Coordinates, a sub-section of the St. Charles County Chiefs Association, spearheaded the program. Both groups are made-up of fire chiefs and training officers from the departments throughout St. Charles County.

The training has been conducted in cooperation with the St. Louis City Fire Department’s training academy and has taken place on site at St. Louis Fire Department Headquarters over six days the last two weeks. Prior to the hands on portion of the training, firefighters spent time in a classroom refreshing their high rise knowledge under the tutelage of Captain Phil Lopez of the Clayton Fire Department.

In addition to interior high rise operations, county ladder companies have had the opportunity to exercise their aerial operations skills by practicing rescues off of their ladders; as well as coordinated rescues from different floors using two ladder trucks working in close proximity to one another.

Rob Wylie, Fire Chief, Cottleville Fire Protection District:
“This type of training is extremely beneficial for our personnel. It gives us an opportunity to work in live fire conditions in multi story facilities that duplicate the types of buildings we are now seeing in St. Charles County. This is a very different animal than the 1 & 2 story buildings we are accustomed to, so this is an invaluable experience.”

The last day of training for area firefighters is today, Wednesday, May 16, 2007 beginning at 9:00 am and running through 3:30 pm at the St. Louis City Fire Department Headquarters.